Long time?

It feels like a long time since I posted las, but it really hasn't been long AT ALL- it just seems like it. We are 20 days away from the last day of school... and EVERYONE can feel it. There isn't a teacher in the district who doesn't want school to end...I'd put a quarter on it!

What that means for Bethany in Special Education is: NO prep time and lots of headache. We are right smack in the middle of State End of Level testing which means that we pull out each kid who recieves Special Edcuation services to either test them in a smaller setting, read the test (or allowed parts) to the students, or both. Luckily we have great Paras who help out a ton, but most of the testing falls on us as the teachers. This time of year is also transition time, meaning we have to get our files ready to send to the next school. Luckily for me, I can fix a lot of the files next year at the IEP meetings I hold for the students I keep on my caseload when I move to the High School. This year for some reason as well, we've had a lot of 8th graders qualify for Special Ed services, so we're STILL holding IEPs, which for me is EXTREMELY frustrating because I was done with all but 3 of mine by the end of 1st semester. And on top of it, I still teach, believe it or not. So I come home pretty exhausted everyday. Anyway, I'm ready for my break. Love my job more than words can describe and I'm SUPER grateful to have what job security I have, but I'm definitely ready for the break.

What this means for Chad in Band is: REHERSALS and pass-offs. Chad's last concert of the year is coming up, so its crunch time for him. He spends long hours before and after school getting music finalized and making sure kids know their music during after school sectionals. He is so good with the Intermediate School kids; they would be crying right now if I were their teacher! He is busy arranging for the concert and what to do afterward. He is also playing in Forever Plaid with some locals here in Hurricane, so we haven't seen much of each other the past week or so.

We are SO looking forward to having a two week break! Yes, just two weeks, give or take. Chad has decided to work for the Utah Shakespearean Festival this year again. His rehersals start June 15, so we actually get some time off between the end of school and the start of his summer job. The first in our whole marriage! Usually rehersals start before school is out, so we don't really get a break. I will have a week off and then have an early June Math workshop to attend. Then I have NOTHING until July 12 when I start teaching summer school. I hope I welcome the work rather than resent it! I'll be working Monday-Thursday from 9-3:30 for 2 weeks and then Monday-Wednesday from 9-3:30 of the third week. Meanwhile, we plan on making sure everything is set for September so that when school starts in August, we aren't going crazy trying to get everything figured out at the last minute.

We have enjoyed the beautiful weather of Hurricane, including the wind because we've been able to get outside and fly our kites! Hopefully, the weather will be nice enough that we can take some morning hikes in the next couple of weeks and first weeks of summer before I'm too pregnant to go!

A Scrapbook Update

I've decided to post the scrapbook page with pictures of camping and our little guy and a little info about both of them. I've decided to hold off on posting the other pages until the end of the year though.
We are really enjoying life and watching our little guy grow.
March weekends were all spent out of town- two on Spring Break, one in SLC for a wedding, and one in SLC for a birthday party! We were also able to spend Easter with family in SLC.
We were just able to have Mandi, Alex, and Darek down for the Annual Kite Festival in St. George! It was a lovely weekend and the weather was fantastic!!!
I was offered a job teaching at Hurricane High School in February and decided to take it. I am very excited about the new job and having the new experiences with the older students! I will also be teaching summer school for two weeks in July.
Chad will be staying at Hurricane Intermediate with roughly the same schedule as this year. He has decided to accept a percussion job for the summer for the Utah Shakespearean Festival. I am quite relieved- I was worried about him working though October with our little boy being due in September.
We are 5 weeks away from being done with the school year! We are both looking forward to having the time off to relax and get ready for little bebe.
We are loving life, things really couldn't be much better!!

And now for the pictures!
Click on the scrapbook pages to get a closer look at the pictures and details about camping and Gryn.

Lucky me

I don't have to post the story of telling the gender of my baby- my sister did a great job of doing it, so if you'd like to know and read about it, click here :)

Teaching

I've come to understand that of all the jobs in the world to pick, Teaching is just not one of those "9-to-5" jobs. I dream of going home at contract time, grocery shopping on "easy days" or during reasonable hours, hiking Zion after work, or just reading in the evening.
Most of the time however, I do not come home at contract time, in fact when I do eventually get home, I usually bring something with me from school to get done (however in the past three years, I have gotten MUCH better at leaving work at school). By the time I leave the school, I am so utterly spent, the idea of hiking almost gives me a heart-attack, reading usually puts me to sleep, and I can't think of being in a grocery store for fear that I'll snap!
While this may seem like a complaint, I really love my job. I can't imagine what it would be like to sit and read or go hike or even come home "on time." I especially can't imagine what it would be like to NOT work. I would be SO empty.
So on this day when contract time ended 50 minutes ago, I am still at work, blogging, so I don't have to work.... for a few minutes anyway. I think I'll go home and do laundry, then scrapbook for March and do another post. That'll be my fill for the week!